Helping the homeless and the poor in the suburbs

We may think of the homeless as city dwellers who sleep on park benches. The full picture, especially in the suburbs, is much more complex.

Since 2000, the number of poor people in suburban communities has grown 64 percent, according to a recent article in U.S. Catholic. That translates into 3 million more homeless individuals than in large cities. Poverty on the periphery poses a challenge because social services are more spread out, and resources are often directed to urban areas.

The last time you slept in a hotel, there is a chance someone staying on your floor was technically homeless. Dubbed “weeklies,” these people survive by renting hotel rooms from week to week. Social workers say many families without a permanent roof over their head have at least one working adult in the household. Saving money for the security deposit needed to rent an apartment can seem daunting when these folks work for low wages in retail or other service jobs.

These same families no doubt struggle to give their children stability and security — two elements needed for success in school. Twenty percent of American children live in poverty, according to U.S. Catholic.

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In Chester County, one of the wealthiest regions in the country, 625 people were without permanent shelter during the January 2013 count. This one-night “snapshot” comes from the Chester County Department of Community Development. The figure includes transitional and emergency shelters, but not hotels, or people staying with relatives and friends out of necessity.

Advocates and the homeless themselves gathered in Pottstown on a recent December night to remember those on the fringes who did not survive 2013. They were William Cyril Freece, 55, and Steven Miller, 37, according to the Pottstown Mercury newspaper. Two young women who had passed away over the past three years were also remembered — Jennifer Lewis, 26, and Syherah Cerdan, 23 — because they had not been named in earlier memorials.

I think there is hope to emerge from these recent years of austerity with renewed compassion for the less fortunate. What can we do?

• Donate to a local food pantry. Call your county for locations.

• E-mail or call your elected officials in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. Tell them to avoid cuts to Medicaid and food stamps.

• Help a relative, friend, or a stranger find a job.

Pope Francis, Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” has earned praise for speaking out against rising inequality in America. In a June address he said, “Among our tasks as witnesses to the love of Christ is that of giving a voice to the cry of the poor, so that they are not abandoned to the laws of an economy that seems at times to treat people as mere consumers.”